Brussels
Philip Morris, the world’s largest cigarette maker, agreed this week to pay the E.U. $1.25 billion to settle charges of money laundering and smuggling. The E.U. had charged that Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds were smuggling their own cigarettes into Europe to evade high E.U. duties and taxes. Philip Morris did not admit to any wrongdoing but agreed to put up the vast sum to finance the fight against contraband and counterfeit cigarettes. Most smuggled cigarettes, the company said, are fake Marlboros, not real ones, and the sale of such counterfeits means lost revenue for both the E.U. and the tobacco companies. RJR said it had no plans to settle.
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